China on Friday (Feb 13) asserted that it will take all necessary measures against foreign spying activities in the country after the United States circulated a recruitment video aimed at Chinese military officers to work for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Beijing called the CIA’s attempt a naked political provocation and accused Washington of maliciously smearing the Chinese government.
“China will take all necessary measures to resolutely combat infiltration and sabotage activities of foreign anti-China forces and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
The CIA recruitment video
The CIA released a video titled “The Reason to Step Forward: To Save the Future” across social media platforms, including YouTube. The timing of the video raised questions as China is going through a political and military shift with Xi Jinping’s so-called anti-corruption campaign.
The video features a fictional mid-level People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer who becomes disillusioned by alleged corruption and selfishness of the senior leadership. It pitches espionage as a patriotic act, and suggests contacting the CIA is a way to fight for family and country against the madman leaders.
The video also details methods and technical instructions to contact the CIA through the Tor Network or virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the Great Firewall. The CIA campaign coincides with a significant purge of high-ranking military officials in China. Recently, senior generals like Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli have reportedly been under investigation for disciplinary violations. US intelligence officials suggest that this internal turmoil may create openings for recruiting disaffected insiders who fear for their own careers or the country’s direction.
However, this is not the first time the CIA launched such a campaign; in early 2025, it released a similar video in Mandarin as agency director John Ratcliffe described China as a top intelligence priority.
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